2011 Phoenix Year in Review

Top 10 PHOENIX STORIES OF 2011

Here's what made news in the city in 2011:

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Andrew Thomas

Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, once a conservative Republican icon, faced unprecedented attorney ethics hearings into his actions against the judiciary, the Board of Supervisors and others. Independent investigators accused Thomas and two of his former deputies of misconduct ranging from criminal conduct to filing civil and criminal cases against political rivals to embarrass or burden them. Investigators recommended Thomas be disbarred. A three-member panel is weighing the evidence.

Credit: Jack Kurtz/The Arizona Republic

Jack Harris

In March, Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris was removed from direct authority over the department because of controversy over how kidnapping statistics were used to obtain a $1.7 million U.S. grant. Harris retired April 15, maintaining that neither he nor anyone he was aware of in the department had intentionally inflated numbers or relabeled departmental reports to land the grant. The Phoenix city auditor on April 25 told a special review panel that he had found no evidence that the Police Department intentionally inflated the kidnapping statistics.

Credit: Nick Oza/The Arizona Republic

Ame Deal

The body of Ame Deal, a 10-year-old south Phoenix girl, was found on July 12 stuffed inside a small footlocker at her home. Adults entrusted with her care told police she must have hid there while playing hide and seek the previous night. Phoenix police on July 27 arrested four adults, two of whom they accused of being responsible for Ame's death and two of whom they accused of abusing her. Acting Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner called the case "an unspeakable tragedy, one of the worst we have ever seen."

Credit: Josh Radtke/The Arizona Republic

Joe Arpaio

By most accounts, it was a rough year for Sheriff Joe Arpaio: He fired his second-in-command, David Hender-shott, in the spring after a damning internal investigation. The summer brought the arrest of three employees accused of drug smuggling and national coverage of actor Steven Seagal accompanying Arpaio's deputies to raid a suspected cockfighter's home. The year ended with the defeat of Arpaio's ally, Sen. Russell Pearce. But by Arpaio's account, it was just another year in the Sheriff's Office -- his 18th -- and he continued to insist he wouldn't change a thing.

Credit: Jack Kurtz/The Arizona Republic

Mayoral election

In November, Phoenix voters ushered in a new era of leadership after they elected Greg Stanton mayor to replace term-limited Phil Gordon. The race to determine who would be the city's first new mayor in eight years pitted Stanton, a former councilman, against Republican operative and former planning commissioner Wes Gullett. The fight for the city's top elected seat proved to be the most competitive Phoenix has seen since 1983 and shattered past city voter turnout records. Stanton takes the oath of office Jan. 3.

Credit: Jack Kurtz/The Arizona Republic

Bishop Olmsted

Bishop Thomas Olmsted of the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix started the year embroiled in the St. Joseph's Hospital scandal. He was also forced to suspend another Catholic priest after accusations of abuse, and he faced loud reaction to two decisions later in the year: His home church, Sts. Simon and Jude Cathedral, banned girls from altar service, and the bishop decided that communion wine, which Catholics consider to be the blood of Christ, would be offered only on certain special occasions. He changed his mind on communion after consultation with other bishops.

Credit: Yfat Yossifor/The Arizona Republic

Sonoran Boulevard

Sonoran Boulevard almost stalled in 2011. The neighborhood uproar about the 7-mile stretch of road in northeast Phoenix received the attention of candidates for the Phoenix mayor and council. Residents were concerned about traffic congestion because of a lack of the boulevard's connection to Interstate 17 on West Sonoran Boulevard. Work on the $40 million project continued after the help of a mediator who settled issues between residents, developers, city officials and city leaders.

Credit: Mark Henle/The Arizona Republic

Billboards

Billboards become a hot political issue as city officials and residents looked for ways to stem what appeared to be a rising tide of electronic billboards all over town. Billboard requests, and approvals for many of them, continued to take place even as the city was looking at ways to revise its ordinance. Meanwhile, a citizens group launched a petition drive to ban all new billboards and electronic conversions of older structures, and a court ruled that electronic billboards violate state law.

Credit: Tom Tingle/The Arizona Republic

CityScape

Developers of CityScape, the massive, $900 million downtown Phoenix retail/commercial project, this year received yet another loan from one of the city's non-profit corporations that is financing the downtown project's capstone business, the Hotel Palomar. RED Development has received more than $82 million in loans from city organizations to build the hotel, scheduled for opening in March 2012. Its retail spaces are all leased, with a Starbucks due to open within the next few months.

Credit: David Wallace/The Arizona Republic

Mark Goudeau

"I am no monster," Mark Goudeau told a Maricopa County Superior Court jury. As the Baseline Killer, he was a 13-month-long nightmare, appearing out of nowhere wearing disguises, to kidnap women on the streets of Phoenix, rob them, rape them, and if they didn't cooperate, kill them. One man and eight women died, each with a bullet in their heads, and if Goudeau's gun had not misfired at least three times, there might have been more dead. His trial began in June, and when it ended in November, the jury decided that yes, Mark Goudeau is a monster.